Plankton are a diverse group of organisms living primarily in the oceans and includes amongst others zooplankton, such as krill. Zooplankton is a major ocean recourse with considerable human and economic potential, but catching or harvesting of zooplankton is difficult for various reasons.
So long, catching zooplankton has been done using large nets or trawl with a very small mesh-size. A problem associated with using nets having a small mesh-size is that the bycatch may be considerable and difficult to prevent. Fry or other small species may unintentionally be caught in the nets, which may have severe consequences for the marine environment.
Consequently, fishery of zooplankton and krill using traditional fishing methods is banned in most territories worldwide. Today, commercial fishery of krill primarily takes place in Antarctic regions where krill is relatively large and caught near the surface, which helps to reduce the risk of bycatch.
To ensure the future food supply for a growing population, ocean resources are an important and nutrition-wise good source. However, ocean resources are scarce and commercial fishery must be regulated to ensure future supply. A need thus exists for fishing technologies and instruments, which serve to protect the environment and reduce harmful effects, such as bycatch.
Hence, an improved technology for catching zooplankton and other marine organisms would be advantageous, and in particular, more efficient and reliable fishing instruments that reduce bycatch would be advantageous.